The present invention relates to a self-propelled troller.
Self-propelled trollers used for trolling or for carrying a baited fish line to a remote location from shore are known in the prior art. One known troller of this type employs a plurality of different lines, including a fishing line, a shore-to-boat control line, and a trolling line attached separately to the boat. The several lines increase the amount of work required to set up a trolling operation. The lines also have a tendency to become entangled with one another.
In another known type of remote-controlled troller, a fishing line is equipped with a line enlargement adapted to trip a reverse-direction switch when the line is reeled in, causing the troller to reverse direction in response to tension in the fishing line. The extent to which this troller can be guided by an onshore fisherman is generally limited to forward and reverse directions.
One general object of the present invention is to provide a remote-controlled troller which is intended to be guided by a single fishing line in a desired trolling path by an operator onshore or in an onshore boat.
Another object of the invention is to provide in such a troller, a construction which functions to isolate the troller substantially from the line of force in the fishing line when a fish has been hooked at the end of the line.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide in such a troller, a line-handling construction which reduces the tendency of the line to fray or otherwise become damaged.
The self-propelled troller of the present invention includes an elongate flotation hull having bow and stern ends. The hull is powered for movement in a forward direction by a powered propeller located near the stern end of the hull. An elongate tube in the troller extends from the bow of the hull rearwardly of the propeller. The tube is adapted to receive a fishing line slidably therethrough in a bow-to-stern direction, allowing the troller to be guided in the water toward the direction of pull on the line.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the tube extends from the bow end of the hull, through a forward portion thereof, downwardly and rearwardly beneath the propeller.
These and other objects and features of the present invention will become more fully apparent when the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.